Mars And Earth Will Be Closest For Over A Decade At The End Of May

Mars is about 249 million miles (400 million kilometers) from Earth. On the other hand, on May 30, the red planet will drift to within 46.8 million miles to planet Earth. They will be seen closest in over a decade.

The sun has two planets in its Goldilocks zone: the Earth and Mars. https://t.co/JCpXXl8bfl pic.twitter.com/Df48JBM7mS

— Science Channel (@ScienceChannel) May 6, 2016

Mars will appear brighter and bigger from May 18 to June 3, according to NASA. No need for binoculars or telescope to glimpse on it. NASA also said that Mars will reach its highest point in the night sky at midnight around 25 degrees over the southern horizon.

Mars will soon be closer to Earth than it has been in 11 years https://t.co/IFkPTpdgHd pic.twitter.com/jCiOzrCwGL — CNN International (@cnni) May 6, 2016

Both planets will line up with the sun. When Mars line up with the planet Earth in the middle and the sun, the red planet will be approximately 47 million miles of Earth, according to Telegraph.

WNEP reports that in the United States, the best time to view Mars during its closest approach will be at midnight Eastern Time. The planet Mars will be seen then as the brightest star and will appear reddish.

Mars is currently visible from East Los Angeles. Look East! pic.twitter.com/5BqhEgS7GX — East L.A. News (@EASTLA_NEWS) May 7, 2016

The surface of Mars, as seen from space. pic.twitter.com/sVOs8eUcIH — Amazing Space (@TheSpaceWonders) May 5, 2016

Mars will be seen closer to planet Earth again in the summer of 2018. This time, it will be closer to about 35.8 million miles from each other. In August 2003, both planets were also seen close for about 34,646,418 miles (55,758,006 kilometers) from center to center.